Z

...it's ironic, when you think about it. In my hand I hold the power to blow up the planet, yet here I am. Death is everywhere, and I can't do a damn thing. Hehe...all I can do now is laugh...laugh...a cold dry...meaningless laugh. But can you blame me? Its rather funny when you think about it. The strongest being in the universe, brought to his knees by mere weaklings, they're just human...no, no that's not all. They're not just humans...they're zombies.

Its so ridiculous...just say the word to yourself. Go ahead, say it. Zombies. Human eating ghouls that feel neither pain nor guilt. They're terrifying in theory, but when you say the word you can't help but smile. Its...just a funny word. You know! Its been beaten over our heads countless times, zombie movies, books, TV shows...the media has turned the idea into a farce. The word has...had lost its meaning. It was just silly to think it could happen in real life.

Well...I guess the only one still laughing at it is me...so maybe its not that funny.

I had always wondered...does one pass on in the same way if we become zombies? My father told me, after he died the first time, what it was like. He described it as cold, like you were out in the winter cold without a jacket on. Darkness first, but then a small yellow light would force you to open your eyes. You would find yourself in a line with other dead spirits, all waiting to be judged.

But...the undead...what happens to the undead? Did they pass on after getting bitten and losing their minds? Their energy becomes invisible once they lose themselves...so are they dead then? They still move...not like if they were alive, but still...they move. They think, somewhat at least. They go after food, just like any animal would. Of course...animals still feel. Zombies have long lost that ability.

...another thing I find funny, is that it started like all the movies do. A cure, or what was suppose to be, in the process of creation at Capsule Corp. I wasn't there myself...I wonder if maybe I had been there. I'm pretty smart, because of my mother...could I have stopped it? Was Bulma to blinded by the thought of a cure? Could I have seen something she missed?

It was a weekend...Saturday...heh, sorry...I haven't said that word for a while, so it's strange to say. Saturday...anyway, Vegeta burst into me and my mother's home one Saturday. That morning, I can remember getting up. It was normal, I didn't notice anything out of place...maybe if I had been paying more attention to the energy signals the world was giving off, could I have saved the planet? Could I have stopped it before the disease spread from West City?

He burst in, blood rushing from his neck. It was startling to say the least. My mother was pregnant, we...we were going to call the baby Goten. This was before we knew it didn't need a bite, it only took a drop. If I or Vegeta had only known...

Vegeta burst in, coughing up blood while blood flowed from his neck. I've seen wounds, believe me. I've seen some wounds, but this one was different. The blood wasn't clotting like it was suppose to. It just kept coming and coming. His blue spandex was a mess, his eyes were all wrong. He looked like he had spent the last week up training non stop, and he had lost to his shadow opponent. He looked better the time Frieza had killed him.

As my mother sat him down against the wall, he coughed blood all over her face. That was when it happened, I guess. I didn't even take note of it at the time...my own mother...I let it happen. The blood must have gotten in her eyes then, its the only reason I can think of. Vegeta explained to us what was happening, between him coughing up more blood and trying to hold onto what little sanity he had left. He told us that Bulma had been the one to bite him. He hadn't suspected foul play until blood was coming from his neck. And now...it was too late.

It had been a while since my father had died at the Cell games, and since then Vegeta and Piccolo had filled the roll rather surprisingly. And here was Vegeta, slowly losing his mind infront of me. I'll never forget when he looked up at me, and told me to kill him. I...never. I'll never forget the look in his eye. I had known him as a proud warrior for my entire life, my Kami he was a proud man. And here he was...with gray...dead eyes...telling me to kill him.

Before I could get to it, my mother fell. Vegeta and me turned to look at her, both of our eyes wide...but for different reasons. I was scared, thinking that all this excitement had gotten to her and that she was in trouble due to the baby. Vegeta however...he probably knew the truth. She was all ready gone...and the baby wasn't far along enough to save. I guess he knew that. For what he did, I don't blame him...at the time I did...but after a while I figured out why he did what he did...

I took my mother to her bed, but just as I put her down she coughed up blood. Her eyes suddenly started to grow darker, almost like Vegeta's. It still hadn't hit me yet. I kept telling myself that it was because of the baby, the thought of what really was happening never hit me. Vegeta startled me when he appeared in the doorway, blood ever still running down his body. He looked at his wits end, and yet it was strange. I've only seen him smile a few times. There was his happy smile he didn't let anyone see when Trunks blew up his first crib...and there was his sad smile he had when he told my father to fight for the Saiyan race on Namek.

He was waring his sad smile at that moment.

He said sorry too. Sorry, with that sad smile, it caught me off guard. I couldn't focus, because my mother kept trying to sit up and grab at me. She was all ready that far gone...probably because of Goten. Everything was happening to fast, I couldn't make sense of it at the time. Vegeta shot to my side, imbedding his fist into my stomach. I coughed up saliva, my body going limp. I really hadn't been ready for a hit like that. He twisted around on his foot and kicked me with the other, sending me crashing out of my small house.

I held the back of my head, waiting for my vision to focus. I noticed Vegeta gathering energy, so I turned just as it happened. My home...my home in the 439 mountain area...Vegeta took every last shred of it in a golden ball of light.

I'm sorry for it now, but I cursed him for the longest time. I honestly can't tell you how long I sat on the edge of the crater crying my eyes out. I couldn't make sense of it...I kept waiting for their energy's to pop up for me to sense...but it never happened.

I must have passed out, because the flaring energy of Krillin, Tien, and Yamcha woke me. After shaking my head and rubbing my eyes, I took off for where they were. On the way there, I tried to sense everyone else that I knew. Thinking back, it was about then that reality started to set in on me. Imaging reaching your hand into a jar of salt water filled with barbed wire. The world...it felt like it was on fire. Normally we can only sense out stronger power levels, but...my Kami...I could feel everyone.

Everyone...it was like I could hear their screams. Humans at their worst, turning on each other to save their own skin. People who were alone, crying silently as zombies descended on them. Groups of people fighting till the last breath, even though it was in vein. I needed to slow down...I felt like I was going to throw up. To this day I still don't know why I was suddenly able to feel all that...maybe it was because I couldn't control my powers after losing my mother and unborn brother...or maybe it was because of what the planet was going through...but I could feel it all.

I was flying over a city I didn't know the name of at the time. I later learned it was called Satan City...fitting, huh? After all that I had felt flying to this town...it was to quiet. Cars not moving, no noise of the city...the town was literally dead. It got to the point where I stopped, waiting...wanting to hear a sound. I finally did hear one. Turning to it, I saw a girl running for her life on the ground. Her hair was black, her eyes were blue, and she looked like a fighter. Her hair was in a pony tail, and she was dressed in a white...red loose shirt that went past her waste. She wore biker shorts under that, and fighting gloves on her knuckles. She was surrounded when I found her, but she had one hell of a kick.

She probably would have been dead if not for that kick, but that alone wouldn't be enough to save her now. She had been caught, and a sea of zombies were slowly gathering around her. I zoomed toward her, picking her up from behind just before they got to her. She struggled for a while until she realized she was flying. Another thing I'll never forget...was the look in here eyes when she turned back and looked at me. Startled, scared, amazed...all in those big blue eyes.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to her. She wasn't necessarily hot, but she had a look to her...strong, yet understanding. I decided to continue towards where I had felt Krillin and the others before, not having the guts to say anything to the girl my age whom I was holding. After watching me for a while, she simply turned back forward and continued to look ahead. She probably was wondering if all she had saw was real, and if I was really flying. I don't know. I didn't know what to say, and she didn't want to say anything either. After a while, while I was flying over a field, she broke down. Crying, her entire being started to shake and cry.

I'm normally...well...back then at least...was a nice understanding guy. But...I didn't know who this girl was, or what to say to her. I've seen death before, and I know what it's like the first time. I decided to land in the field. The grass was extremely green, so full of life that it stood out when compared to the sea of red the towns were. I held her up, and turned her around. Her blue eyes were pouring out, and I could tell from the look that she had lost...maybe even had to kill, some of the people closest to her. She leaned her head into my shoulder, clinging to me like I would go away too if she let go. Deciding it was best not to say anything, I just let her cry herself out.

I don't know if I've made this clear, so let me say it again. I'm a idiot, loser, and a failure. I didn't notice as I was taking care of a girl I didn't even know, but my friends life forces were dropping like flies. It wasn't till two golden lights filled the sky and the ground rumbled below my feet that I snapped from the girl infront of me. We both turned to face the light while trying to hold our balance. Once the light faded and the shaking stopped, I noticed one...that's right...only one familiar energy level coming my way.

Piccolo...a hurt Piccolo, was flying towards me. Why was it only him? Why was he coming from where the others had been all alone? Those were the thoughts running through my mind. I can only imaging what was running through the girls mind. Explosions in the distance...zombies taking entire cities...she must have felt like it was only herself and me left on the entire planet. She didn't even flinch when the green alien landed next to us. She clung only tighter to my side.

Piccolo began to tell me what had happened, and the girl started to relax when myself and Piccolo started to talk like the friends we were. Krillin, 18, Master Roshi, Marron, and Yamcha had gotten together at the beginning of the day to do some site seeing to celebrate Marron's birthday when the zombies came. They had been caught off guard, and Krillin had gotten bit before they had known what was going on. They began to fight, and try and save who they could. The fighting attracted Tien, and later Piccolo said he showed up, followed lastly by 17.

By the time Piccolo had gotten there Tien was trying to fight off Yamcha and Krillin, both who had all ready been bit. 18 had been in a panic, trying to find Marron so she couldn't help. It was chaos. Piccolo said he had tried to help Tien calm down Yamcha and Krillin, but it was no good.

It was then I noticed a purple drop fall from Piccolo's finger. He must have seen me notice it, because he smiled, pointing back to the town. The smile...it was wrong...it was all wrong. Twisted...full of darkness...I had seen him smile like that only once...back when I first met him...and it hadn't even been close to how strong this one was.

Piccolo attacked the girl and me. Thinking back, it must have been the Namekian reaction to the disease. He went cray, but a different way than human's did.

I pushed the girl back, and fought against my teacher, my friend...at first I hadn't wanted to kill him. I wanted to knock him out or back to his sense...but there was this look in his eyes. His smile was all wrong...but his eyes, they were telling me to finish him. I can't describe it with words. I can't.

I did it though. I had to power up to maximum, but I did it. I killed Piccolo.

After the fight, I returned to the girl's side. She hadn't ran...she probably was to tired to. My golden spiky hair fell back to its black state, silence filling the area. I reached my hand down to her, telling her my name. "My name is Gohan..." ...talk about a pick up line, huh? I know zombies are running around everywhere, a green guy just showed up and attacked us, and my hair was golden just now...but will you come with me? She must have seen the Cell games video though...cause my line worked. "You're the Delivery Boy..."

...my given name from a rather clueless reporter right before I took on Cell.

She told me her name was Videl as she took my hand to stand up. I didn't want to know more than that at the time. Should I have asked more? Who knows...I really just don't know anymore. Maybe we should have went different ways...but I couldn't just leave her there...right?

Where to now? That was what was on my mind at that time. I figured Kami's Lookout would be safe...it wasn't. Dende...the bighearted idiot of a guardian must have came down from the lookout to try and help, gotten bitten, and returned to kill off everyone who had called the totem pole home. I almost killed him when I saw him like that. It was when I was holding him off that the dragonballs came to mind. They could easily undo everything that had been done!

...I was such an idiot...

Videl, the girl I had saved, got caught in the fighting. I had only spaced out for a second when the dragonballs came to mind. That was all it took, I knocked Dende over toward the poor girl. Dende crashed into her, digging his teeth into her. A pure reaction from touching her flesh. I was over there faster than a second, ripping him off her. I was just to slow, small teeth marks were imprinted into her neck, a small dribble of red showing that the skin had been broken.

I grabbed her and took off. Should I have left her there? Was it wrong to take the scared girl with me?

I took off for West City. I needed a dragon radar, and Bulma had one. The city was even worse than Satan City. Kami...it was hell. The city stunk with death. Videl was on my back, trying to not fall asleep as she rode me piggy back style. It didn't take me long to find the device...I only paused when I passed Trunk's room. Through the crack of the door, I could see a red crib. It was enough for me to know what had happened, and it made me sick. I didn't have time to slow then though, I had dragonballs to find. If everything went right, I would have saved everyone with them. Why...why can nothing go right for me?

It was child's play finding the balls with super saiyan two powers. Videl had passed out on my back, but for some reason she wasn't reacting the same way the others were. Looking back, it must have been due to the fact that the disease had gone through a Namekian and had mutated somehow, changed.

I should have payed more attention to that. It should have crossed my mind. Why didn't I think of that then?

I summoned the dragon, and I got two wishes. I told him to grant them both at the same time, so that the disease would be erased from existence, so it couldn't continue on. With the first one I wished everyone back to life, and with the second I wished that the disease that had changed everyone zombies to be removed form everyone's bodies.

A few simple words...I was only a few simple words off.

Just as the dragon left, Videl woke up while still on my back and sunk her teeth into me. I remember my eyes widening, turning to look at her. She didn't have the same disease as everyone else, because she got it from a Namekian. Her disease was different...she wasn't like a zombie.

So here I am. You're probably wondering what happened, if Bulma somehow came up with a cure for me and the girl Videl while Vegeta and the other's held me down. You're probably hoping that the world returned to normal, and everyone just brushed it off like it never happened. You're probably wondering if there was a happy ending to my story...

...let me answer a different question first.

A zombie isn't really dead. You're still alive. Your mind still functions, you can still think clear as day like I am now. Your body just moves on its own, and you're forced to watch … every … single … detail...